Timeline

The Ministry will continue to work closely with the Region of Peel, school boards and service providers to support local service system planning and community engagement, and to mitigate potential service disruptions.

Key milestones include:

September 2016

Launch of local needs assessment and other applicable working groups

The Region of Peel is conducting a local needs assessment, in collaboration with school boards and community partners, to obtain an in-depth understanding of community needs as they relate to early years child and family programs. The needs assessment will also assist in the identification of any existing service gaps and/or duplication. The findings from this process will be used to inform the local planning decisions.

Early 2017

Release of new OEYCFCs funding approach and outcome framework

The Ministry continues to work on the development of a new funding approach. The new funding approach will be communicated to the Service System Managers in early 2017 to support local community planning. The government is committed to maintaining its current investment of over $100M (which includes funding currently provided for Early Literacy Specialists). This includes funding for program delivery, planning and administration.

May 2017

Submission of local needs assessment and initial plans to the Ministry

Service System Managers are required to submit a summary of the completed needs assessment; and initial plans for OEYCFC programs and services. The summary must include a description of the community planning and engagement processes, data sources, and other mechanisms that were used to assess community needs; the approximate number and location of children ages 0-6 and a description of other relevant demographic information; qualitative information that informed the initial plans, and initial plans for site distribution/locations, programs and services.

January 2018

Implement OEYCFC funding approach and service system planBeginning in 2018, Service System Managers will be responsible for the local management of OEYCFCs as part of their responsibility for the service system management of child care and other human services. While the expectation is that the key features of OEYCFCs are implemented by 2018, it is understood that program implementation and service integration will take time to meet the expected outcomes for OEYCFCs.